Dealers say California ammunition sales spike ahead of new background check laws

Bullet sales have surged in California ahead of a new law that mandates background checks on all ammunition purchases, dealers told ABC News.

Beginning July 1, California residents will have to show identification and undergo background checks to purchase new ammunition in the state. Store operators were told by state officials earlier this month that they will need an internet connection, a computer and a magnetic card reader to comply with the law.

Richard Howell, General Manager of Old West Gun & Loan in Redding, California, said he has noticed a sudden demand in ammo sales in his store.

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“Normally, somebody will come in and they’re going out for a recreational day of shooting, and so they say they need a couple of boxes of .9 millimeter, a couple of boxes of .45 millimeter. We ring them up and they go out the door,” Howell told ABC7 News KRCR. “But, they don’t bring in lists on an eight-and-a-half by eleven sheet of paper full saying, ‘I need this filled.'”

This trend has spread in stores around the state, according to ABC. Norris Sweidan, owner of Warrior One Guns and Ammo in Riverside, California, said his store would normally be fully stocked this time of year, but products are flying off the shelves.

He added that stores and customers don’t have a clear picture of the new procedure.

“I don’t know how it’s going to work. I don’t know if you’re going to wait one minute or 10 days for your ammo,” Sweidan said. 

Gun control advocates say the law will allow stores that sell ammunition to identify felons and illegal gun owners, ABC reported. But Howell said weapons stores fear it will only drive customers online and to other states without background checks.

“If it’s big purchases by those individuals, that could affect our business in a sense that they’re not buying that ammunition from us,” Howell said. “The law, like all firearms laws we have in California, haven’t put us out of business yet, and it won’t. Will it be a hindrance? Of course. Will people decide to buy ammo elsewhere? Of course they will.”